Part time work getting more recognition

An interesting article in the London Evening Standard recently highlights a new agency set up by women for women who are looking for part time work. Women Like Us is not just a recruitment operation for would be part time female workers but focuses on helping employers ” who value talent more than round-the-clock availability. Who know that part time candidates give back in commitment what they get in flexibility. And who understand the importance of keeping expertise in the workforce”.

When entrepreneurs spot a niche you know that something significant is happening. The ONS, CIPD and many of the Unions all seem to combine to put down part time work as the inferior choice to full time jobs. They fail to see how many more people – especially the Gen Y’s and the 60+ – are redefining what they want from work and life. There is also much discussion about metro males in their 30’s and 40’s making key decisions to the effect that ” work alone does not define life in the way it once did. As people talk about portfolio careers, they now have portfolio lives of which work is an important part, but by no means the only part. They want to spend time with their families – and they may well want their work to be creative or reflect their interests. Some men now want to have it all.”

Many of these people then discover that rather than reverting to another full time job if they have the time they rather like the idea of having more than one part time job. And so the future of work continues to be redesigned by those people who are redesigning not just their own careers but the very nature of what a career is. Part time work is not just for women.

I wish to be able to pursue other interests of mine whilst still maintaining a main source of income.
I don’t see why part-time work should only be available for mothers, I think many people would appreciate being able to pursue other interests whilst still being able to continue their commitment to their first job.

Any stories on how people have achieved this set-up I would love to read!